


A Secret only she knew

by xCinis



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Falling In Love, Sign Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 20:37:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18431654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xCinis/pseuds/xCinis
Summary: On patrol, Janai discovers a camp of the human general and some of her soldiers. She decides to spy on it, and she comes back every following night. For tactical reasons only, of course. Definitely not because she’s slowly falling in love with that general...





	A Secret only she knew

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is highly inspired by [a Janaia headcanon](https://afreewheelingwriter.tumblr.com/post/183140860729/okay-but-just-imagine-janai-is-scouting-around) on tumblr.  
> I just want to warn you: This is my first fic in quiet some time and also my very first English fic ever. I am not a native speaker and the last time I wrote an English text was about two years ago, so please forgive me any mistakes in spelling and grammar - But of course, you may point them out so I can correct them :)
> 
> I hope it's enjoyable nonetheless :D

It was a quiet night. A peaceful one. Janai enjoyed this illusion of peace. Just for one short moment, she was able to enjoy not fighting. Not making any new plans about how she and her Sunfire Knights could break through the border and defeat the humans. 

Well, actually she was scouting around said border right now. It was dark and she had been able to sneak into human territory unseen. The absence of the sun or at least the lava made her feel slightly uneasy and the fact that she was on the enemy’s side of the border did nothing to improve that feeling. But somehow, she still felt somewhat calm. Maybe it was just because of how quiet this night was. Or because for once she did not have to fight and think. 

It was so quiet, that she was able to hear a fire before she even saw it. She froze immediately. Her ears twitched and she tried to eavesdrop. Except for the fire there was nothing to hear. So, she approached the fire soundlessly, until she was able to detect but not yet recognise people. 

Right now, she was in a forest, the camp on a small clearing. So, she climbed a tree, quiet as a cat, and carefully approached the fire through the treetops. She wasn’t wearing her fancy helmet and her armour was light. Like that it was easy enough to stay soundless and hidden. 

Janai immediately recognised the human general when she was close enough. This bitch she would recognise with her eyes closed. She scowled angrily. 

As much as she wanted to attack right away, she had to admit that she would not stand a chance against the general plus six more soldiers. So, she stayed in her tree and watched them. 

Now she also understood why it was so quiet. No one was saying a word. Instead, the general moved her hands passionately and her soldiers were staring at her fingers like she was telling a story with them. 

Maybe it was a secret language the humans had created to keep their plans safe from any potential spies? 

Janai winced in surprise when suddenly, all the soldiers started to laugh. The general grinned. 

“Really? Just like that?”, one of the soldiers asked. 

The woman nodded. 

“No, I don’t believe it”, said another. 

The general, which had still been looking at the first soldier, now looked at the second one and tapped her chin with her finger. The soldier answered with movements of his hands. 

That was when Janai understood the situation. The general was deaf. She had seen the first soldier talking, so she knew what he had said. Then, while still looking at him, from the corner of her eyes she had seen that the other one had said something as well, but she had not been able to see, what exactly it was. Perhaps she had asked him to repeat it and he did just that by using that sign language. 

Only now Janai realised that she had never heard the general talking. 

Something happened in Janai’s heart. Something she was not able to name. She became aware of how little she knew about the general. After all these months of fighting it had even escaped her that she was deaf. 

Janai felt a trace of admiration. Never would she dare to claim that someone who was... restricted in one way or another would not be able to fight. She knew some warriors who had lost an arm or an eye. But none of them were generals. Or as talented as the human. This restriction was, in fact, no restriction for her. She was able to handle it easily. Janai couldn’t help but be impressed and fascinated. 

Carefully, she adjusted her position to sit more comfortably. She didn’t want to leave yet. Instead, she decided to watch the general and her soldiers for some longer. For pure strategic purposes, of course. Hoping for important information. For no other reason than that. What else could be her motives? 

 

The following night Janai decided to go scouting again. She told her warriors that she might have found something of interest, but gave no further explanation. For them she ordered to stay. She wanted to go alone. 

The camp was in the exact same spot, with the exact same six soldiers and the general sitting around the fire. Janai climbed into her tree and observed them. Seldom, almost never, did she spare the soldiers a glance. Her gaze was on the general most of the time. She watched her telling stories to her soldiers. She watched her whetting her sword. Sparring with her soldiers and beating every single one of them. Filling sheets of paper with drawings. 

 

Janai returned in the following night. And the one after that. And the next one. She persuaded herself this was for the sole purpose of collecting information about the enemy. Maybe she even was actually convinced of this. 

But when the soldiers were talking, she didn’t really listen to them. When she did it for once, she was surprised by them seemingly being good and kind-hearted. They laughed together, exchanged stories, trained together, helped one another to become better. These people were not the horrible and evil creatures she had always believed them to be. Not the monsters she had been told about. They were just friends, sitting together at a campfire. 

It was irritating that Janai was not able to understand the general. So, in every night to follow, she brought a book with her to take notes of her hand movements and their possible meanings. Of course, she did this only in case the general would give any important information. 

That’s what she told herself until she realised that she wanted nothing but to understand the stories she was telling. That she wanted to get to know her better. That she desperately wanted to talk to her. 

So, she returned again and again and again, watched the general for hours every night, tried to learn that sight language. Gradually, she understood some words. Then, some sentences and ultimately, whole stories. She was deeply fascinated by seeing her battle-hardened nature disappear while she was not training or fighting. She was funny when she was telling her stories, gentle when she was listening to other’s and peaceful when she was drawing. 

At some point, Janai had to admit that she felt drawn to that woman. 

Of course, she noticed the concerned glances of her knights every night she returned, but she assured them that this was for tactical reasons only. No one dared to object. 

And she returned to the camp every following night. 

In the daytime, while she was not at the human camp, she practised the signs in her notebook. Eventually, she knew how to sign full sentences, but because of her only four fingers it was hard. 

There were some nights in which she was sure that the general had seen her. Sometimes she looked into the treetops while telling one of her stories. Or she looked alarmingly precisely in Janai’s direction while drawing. Fortunately, she never seemed to actually spot her. 

 

Then they received word that a prince of Katolis and a Moonshadow elf had returned the Dragon Prince to Xadia and his mother. 

Janai did not know what this would mean for her and her warriors. Were they expected to continue the fights? Should they retreat? 

Would there finally be... peace? 

All she knew was that she did not want to fight the general again. But on the other hand, she did not want anyone to order them to withdrawal. Because then, she would probably never see this woman again. 

 

But before she received orders from her superiors, she and her Sunfire Knights had another run in with the humans. 

She ordered her knights not to attack. 

She panicked. She did not want to fight. She did not want to attack the humans. She did not want the humans to attack and make her knights defend themselves. She did not... 

When Janai looked at the general, the human raised her hand and turned to her soldiers. Janai was proud to understand her orders. 

“Stay. Weapons at ready. Maybe they already know. I will talk to the elf.” 

Janai tensed. The general wanted to talk to her. She wanted to talk to her! 

So, she turned to her knights, too. “I will talk to her alone.” 

She met concerned glances but no objections. 

For a moment, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then walked towards the humans. 

The general looked at her harshly. She turned to a man next to her. “Wait," she ordered and started to walk towards Janai. 

Never before in her life had Janai been so nervous. She had met the general many times. But this was something entirely different. They had fought the last times. She knew how to fight. But now, they would talk. In her panic, she almost wanted to run back to her warriors. 

But then she suddenly stood nothing but a foot apart from the general. 

Janai’s breaths sped up when the general examined her. For the human it was the first time she was able to actually look at Janai. There had never been the time for that before. Not with swords clashing against swords. 

Uncertain what to do now, Janai bowed her head to greet her. 

The general examined her for another moment and then returned the gesture. Her gaze stayed cold. 

The elf’s heart beat faster. 

After that, the general turned to sign that man from before, most likely her interpreter, to come, but Janai raised a hand to stop him. He paused and threw the general an unsure glance. 

The woman turned back to Janai and raised one eyebrow. Her hand moved to the hilt of her sword. 

Janai gulped. She raised her shaking hand and put it on her chest. Then, with two fingers of her right hand, she tapped on two fingers of her left hand. She hesitated and thought about the next sign for a second. With the finger, that would be most equal to a human’s little finger, she drew a J in the air. After that she made a fist and extended her thumb. Signing a N was a bit difficult with just four fingers, but she was sure that the general would understand her anyways. So, she put two fingers on her thumb. The fourth one stayed on her palm. She signed another A and, finally, held her “little finger” up into the air. 

My name is J-A-N-A-I.

The general had watched her closely. She seemed impassive, but her stony features softened. 

She raised her hand and Janai feared that her heart would beat right out of her ribcage. 

She made a fist and extended her thumb. Afterwards, she put three fingers on her thumb, while the fifth one stayed on her palm. Then, the first sign again. After that she made a fist and extended her thumb and her little finger. At last, another A. 

“Amaya”, Janai whispered in awe. It was a foreign name to her. A strange one. But she cherished it like a secret only she knew. 

After taking a deep breath, she tried to ask the general – Amaya – whether she knew about recent events. But it was hard with only four fingers on each hand. 

Amaya watcher her concentrated, but suddenly she put her hand on Janai’s. 

Her eyed widened and she stared at her. She was sure to see something like a soft smile on Amaya’s lips. She lowered her hand and again signed for the man to come. 

Hesitantly, he came closer. 

In her excitement, Amaya’s signs were way too fast for her to understand. 

“I am honoured by your gesture," the man interpreted them. “But this will be easier. The four fingers, you know.” 

Janai nodded. 

“Yes, we know, what happened," the man continued without taking his eyes of Amaya’s hands. He seemed scared of Janai. 

It horrified her how justified his concerns were. Or would be, if not for... 

“We did not yet receive further orders from our superiors," Janai explained. “I don’t know... That the prince is still alive and a human, of all things, was the one to retuned him, along with an elf... It might change everything.” 

Amaya stared at her lips while she was talking. She nodded. Her eyes glowed with something Janai could not name. 

“My nephew. My sister’s son," the man interpreted her movements for Janai. 

Pride, she realised. It was pride in her eyes. 

“We have no orders either. I don’t think there is a reason for us to continue our fights for now.” The interpreter appeared surprised after saying this. 

Janai nodded in agreement. “Me neither. Maybe... maybe we should wait, for now. See, how the situation will turn out. Wait for new orders.” 

Amaya nodded, too. 

“Stay on our sides of the border and wait.” 

“Wait," Janai repeated again. “And hope for the best?” Under no circumstances did she want to fight Amaya again. How could she, now? 

“For peace," Amaya added. 

Janai lowered her gaze. Then she raised her head again and looked Amaya in the eyes and extended one hand. 

“Let’s hope for peace," she said. 

For an agonizingly long moment, Amaya just stared at her hand. The, she returned her look, took her hand and squeezed it softly. 

Janai knew that this handshake lasted way too long to be called professional. But she savoured every single second of being allowed to hold Amaya’s hand. 

But then she had to let go. 

She threw a quick look at her knights and then turned back to Amaya. 

“We will retreat now and not return before we receive new orders.” 

“Just like us.” 

Janai nodded. “Good.” 

She turned and signed for her knights to withdraw. They hesitated for a second, but followed her orders without question. 

Janai walked a few steps towards them, but stopped in her tracks to turn around one more time. 

The general was still standing on the same spot. 

Janai put a fist on her chest and drew a circle there. 

I am sorry.

Amaya’s gaze changed. It looked almost regretful. 

“When we meet the next time, it might not be on friendly grounds. There are people who want to keep this war running, no matter what," her soldier interpreted her signs. 

“I know.” Janai nodded and turned to leave with her soldiers. 

She hoped in earnest that this would not be the case. 

 

Back in her camp, her knights harassed her to tell them about what had happened. She explained what she and Amaya had agreed upon. That they would wait for the situation to develop further. 

She did not notice the confused glances of her knights upon her calling the general by her first name. She told them about her hope for peace, now that the Dragon Prince had been returned. Because that would mean no more knights would have to die. That’s the reason she gave them. 

But, of course, her hopes were way more selfish than that. She couldn’t help herself but hope that the next time she would meet Amaya, it would be in the signs of peace.. 

 

She did not return to the human camp after that. There was no good reason to tell her knights. She did not want to give the impression that she wanted to break the truce she and Amaya had agreed upon. 

But she terribly missed watching Amaya. She wished she could just return. Watch her telling stories, training, drawing. She would be satisfied with that. 

Of course, she would like it even more if she could talk to her. To her alone. Without an interpreter. But she would not be able to communicate smoothly. Not with her four fingers. Not with her limited knowledge of sign language. Amaya, of course, would understand her effortlessly. She was able to read lips perfectly. But Janai wanted to understand her exact words, too. 

She could not believe her luck when suddenly, a week later, a mysterious package arrived for her. It contained a book about sign language. Modified, so she could use it with only four fingers. 

Her favourite sign was a very easy one. Her middle finger on her palm, the other fingers extended. 

I love you.

Janai treated this book like her greatest treasure. Memorized each page by heart. Pressed it to her chest when she missed Amaya. 

But once she reached the end of the book, she almost dropped it in surprise. Whoever would have seen her in that moment would have sworn that, despite her dark skin, she blushed up to the tips of her ears. But she would deny this until her dying day. 

There, on the last few pages, were rough sketches of her lurking in the branches above Amaya’s camp. 

Amaya had known it all the time. 

 

Many years later, Janai asked Amaya why she never had done something about her. She could have set a trap for her. She could have killed her. Easily. It could have been a short but important victory for the humans on the breach. 

“Because you never attacked. Because I wanted to see what would happen if I didn’t," she signed. 

“I am glad about what happened," Janai said. “About everything. The war and...” 

Amaya put a finger on her lips. “I am glad you discovered my camp and spied on it," her hands formed. 

Janai couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, me too.” 

All those years after the war she still couldn't believe she was able to put her lips on Amaya’s, just like she did now.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading! I hope my descriptions of sign language were understandable. Researching this was fun actually, but writing it? I wrote this fic in German first (my native language) and translated it afterwards. Writing hand movements in German was hard. Writing them in English was just a huge pain in the ass. Especially since I don't know how to call an elf's fingers?


End file.
